Washington secures court order to enforce ruling that requires FEMA to restore billions in disaster mitigation funding

Attorney General Nick Brown and a multistate coalition today secured a court order requiring the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to take concrete steps to reverse the termination of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program (BRIC) and restore billions in funding to communities relying on the program.

For the past 30 years, the BRIC program has provided communities across the nation with resources to proactively fortify their infrastructure against natural disasters. By focusing on mitigation and community resilience, the program has saved lives, reduced injury, protected property, and saved money that would have otherwise been spent on post-disaster costs.

"The judge's order in this case was unequivocal: FEMA must restore the BRIC program. Communities across Washington are counting on these dollars for vital disaster mitigation projects," Brown said. "We will keep fighting to make sure FEMA stops wasting time and carries out the program as Congress intended."

In Washington, about two dozen BRIC projects totaling more than $150 million have been in limbo due to the federal government's actions. Over the past four years, FEMA has selected nearly 2,000 projects to receive roughly $4.5 billion in BRIC funding nationwide.

On July 16, 2025, Brown co-led the coalition in filing a lawsuit to prevent FEMA from terminating its BRIC program - an action which had already delayed, scaled back, and cancelled hundreds of mitigation projects across the country. On December 11, the coalition won their case. The court declared the termination of this congressionally mandated program unlawful and ordered FEMA to promptly take all steps necessary to reverse the termination. Last month, the coalition filed a motion asking the District of Massachusetts to enforce its December 11 order, as FEMA had offered no indication that it had complied with the order at that point. Today, the court sided with the coalition and granted its requested relief.

Today's order requires FEMA to make pre-disaster mitigation funds available as required by statute, communicate the status of current BRIC projects to the states, and file status reports with the court outlining any actions taken or planned to comply with the order. The order also requires FEMA to issue a fiscal year 2024 Notice of Funding Opportunity for the BRIC program within 21 days.

Joining Brown in securing this order are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, the governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

A copy of today's order is available here.

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